Gadzama started his career in 1978 with the Ministry of Finance in Borno State and transferred to the National Security Organization as a Principal Officer in 1984. He rose through the ranks of the NSO and the subsequent State Security Service which was carved out of the NSO when it was dissolved.[3]
Director of Operations, SSS National Headquarters (1997–1998)
Director of Programmes, SSS National Headquarters 1999
Director of Intelligence (2001–2002)
Director of Operations (2002–2003)
Director of Administration and Logistics, National Headquarters (2004–2005)
Director of Corporate Services, National Headquarters (2006–2007).
In August 2007, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua appointed Gadzama as Director General of the agency. Gadzama was instrumental in President Yar Adua's Amnesty Program for militants in the Niger Delta region. In September 2010, Ita Ekpeyong replaced Gadzama as Director General of the SSS after President Goodluck Jonathan's mass dismissal of security chiefs.[4]
On December 16, 2019, Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Gadzama as the Chairman of the National Institute Policy and Security Studies.[5][6]